As we grow older, we have to work to prevent certain things. These things can include working out to keep both our physique, as well as our insides, healthy, and this can include getting enough sleep at night to keep our brains healthy and alert. However, this includes hearing loss, or for some, going completely deaf. While most people think this happens as you grow into your senior years, that is false. Hearing loss happens for a number of reasons, and can happen at any age. There are ways at home to combat hearing loss, however. These home remedies are the best ways to ensure you keep your hearing, as well as keep your ears healthy.

My friends at work make fun of me all the time for my new-found love of candles. Well, maybe not that I just love candles, but my weird rules that I make up for using them. I like different candles for different seasons (usually just centered around Fall and Winter), but I also don’t put a candle away until it’s done–I must burn it all the way through! I had underestimated my winter candle’s length of burning time and I was two weeks late for my Spring candle I’ve been so excited about (weird, I know). I recently got into candles in the past year. I started out with normal candles you’d find at Marshall’s or whatnot, but I found a wealth of more fun-themed candles online. These include nerdy candles (duh, have you ever met me?!). I’ve found a particularly excellent collection over at Frostbeard Studio.

Please enjoy a guest post on a topic near and dear to our heart from our friend, Dan Chabert: Writing from Copenhagen, Denmark, Dan is an entrepreneur, husband and ultramarathon distance runner. He spends most of his time on runnerclick.com, monicashealthmag.com, and gearweare.com and nicershoes.com. He has been featured on runner blogs all over the world.

Shin splints are a very common symptom amongst runners, especially beginners. This injury affects approximately 40% of beginner runners according to coach Jeff Gaudette. This injury is also known as medial tibial stress syndrome.

For a long time it was thought that shin splints were caused by small tears in the muscular tissue or inflammation of the muscles, causing intense pain. However, modern studies reveal that the shin splints are caused by flexing in the tibial bone. It’s very common for people to misdiagnose any tibial pain as shin splints– consider visiting a doctor to confirm the symptoms.Continue reading →

If you were in America last week, you probably celebrated Thanksgiving. I don’t want to get into the politics of Thanksgiving at this time, so let’s talk about what type of eating goes down during Thanksgiving. A ridiculous type of eating…eating to the point of making yourself sick. Thanksgiving meals are usually feasts with bounties of different dishes. Alcohol doesn’t help either. Also, if you’re cooking for the event, you have more of a chance to snack while you go. All in all, that Thanksgiving day is a day to go big or go home. And most of us go too big so that we can’t move in order to go home. One of the worst things that follows this meal is…guilt. Yup, an emotion that can have a powerful negative effect on you for a long time. So let’s talk about how to get over it. These tips aren’t just for Thanksgiving overeating, they apply to every time you overeat!

First of all, good for you for exercising. Good for you for putting in some work (I know it ain’t easy) into staying healthy and taking care of yourself. After that pat on the back, let’s talk about what you’re doing. It’s hard enough to get in the gym, do a home workout, or whatever you’re doing, let alone planning (and doing) different workouts. But it’s important! Doing the same old routine day after day can kill your mojo!

Why is it important to switch up your exercise? The body is always trying to get to homeostasis, meaning to a point where it has to do as little as possible to keep at a steady state. Humans are also great at adapting. Put those together and your body will try to get used to workouts as soon as it can. Once it “gets used to” a workout, it won’t have to work as hard. Which means YOU won’t burn as many calories, your heart rate won’t go as high, your muscles won’t get worked as intensely as they used to. Are you feeling what I’m saying now? You have to keep your body on its toes!

2007 was a huge year for me. I graduated high school, entered college, and started a quick transition from being more than an athlete that grew up in a gym. While I loved Arnold in my youth (mostly thanks to Conan the Barbarian), I was instantly attracted to Muscle Magazines that featured him. With the challenges of being a college student, I wanted something more lifestyle based and to make a long story short, I became a monthly subscriber to Men’s Health. I think I’ve received every issue since 2007 in the mail and while it’s hard to continue to crank out new material, they do so in a way that attracts your average Joe that wants to make a change.

I’m going to give you my highlights on the magazine released the month before the new release. For example, September is now on sale, so I’m going to share what sparked my interest in the July/August issue. I don’t want to take any business away from them, but this might help you highlight some of the really unique material being released. After nearly a decade of subscription, I’ve seen a lot of recycled material, so for the first time, here you are.

Switching up your workouts is key for surpassing plateaus, getting stronger, and better at the physical activity you do. The body is constantly trying to find homeostasis and when you make a routine that you follow daily, weekly, monthly, etc., it’s not as hard for your body to reach towards homeostasis. However, if you throw your body curveballs by doing different workouts, you’ll be doing muscle confusion. For example, my week looks something like this: rest, boxing, muay thai, home circuit, traditional strength training, and hiking. I’m getting hard workouts in, but they are different. My body doesn’t have a chance to get used to any exercise because I’m pushing it to do different movements to challenge strength, speed, flexibility, and more. We wanted to share an awesome infographic brought you by Ghergich and Clubwoodside. Enjoy below:

We are continuing our series of exercise spotlights with today’s version of a shrug! A lot of people shy away from shrugs because they think that their traps will flame up Hulk-style. In reality, building your traps gives you a strong-looking frame to compliment the rest of your shoulders, arms, and back. Remember, it’s important to continue to add different exercises to your knowledge base so that your body doesn’t get used to anything. Let’s learn about the standing plate-loaded shrug.

Do you think it’s worth buying my own TRX trainer for home? That was a question I recently received from a follower and friend. He has been constantly trying to change his workout regiment over the past 5 years to avoid plateaus. This had led to him working with different trainers and exposure to new equipment. With all those differing opinions, you start to develop questions. One of the big questions is, how much do I invest in my effort to get fit? For some, investing is an issue of different resources whether it is money, time, or space.

The American Swimming Coaches Association sent all of their coaches an email recently in an effort to try to fill some vacancies for Swim Outlet’s Fitter and Fast Tour. This project is top-notch and travels across the country to provide the highest quality clinics of swim instruction to anyone interested. It’s a huge benefit for experienced swimmers and beginners, and while it focuses on youth, coaches and whole community benefit from its presence.